Vijayawada: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy, on 13 May, wrote to external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar requesting him to make necessary arrangements to bring back migrant workers of Andhra Pradesh from Kuwait under the amnesty program.

In his letter, Jagan said that thousands of migrant workers from Andhra, especially those in the Gulf region who have lost their livelihood, are eager to come back but are unable to pay for travel. As many as 2,500 migrant workers who have been granted amnesty by Kuwait are stranded there because they cannot afford to pay the travel expenses, Jagan said, adding they have been issued exit clearances by the embassy, the immigration fines have been waived, and even the Kuwait government is ready to bear their travel cost.

For the past two weeks, they have been staying at shelters provided by the local authorities with mediocre food and basic amenities and are eagerly waiting to return home, Jagan said. “As the Kuwait government is ready to bear the travel expenses to send them back to India, I request you to kindly instruct Kuwait High Commission to work in tandem with Kuwait authorities to arrange flights for Telugu migrant workers from Kuwait to various destinations like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati so as to receive them in our state with ease by following the proper protocol of quarantine and health facilities,” he wrote.

Jagan also said that Andhra Pradesh has set up quarantine facilities in every district headquarters to accommodate the foreign returnees. Keeping in view the large number of migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh and the preparedness of the state to accept the returnees, he requested the minister to consider allowing the migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh to return in phases from Kuwait and other middle east and south-east Asian countries.